Jun202010June 20, 2010June 20, 20104Commentsby L.

Alternative mechanics

Posted in Hardware

Where do you get your optomechanics from?
Newport is a big, one-stop-shop. Get your Ti:Sapph laser, air table, and mechanics all in one place.
ThorLabs has a great line of standard parts….

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Jun182010June 18, 2010June 18, 20100Commentby L.

PsychoPy

Posted in Software

PsychoPy is worth checking out if you need any sort of visual stimulus or psychophysics software. It’s a very nice, extensive program by Jonathan Peirce of the University of Nottingham. As you can tell by…

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Jun172010June 17, 2010June 17, 20102Commentsby L.

Processing

Posted in Software

Processing is a programming language geared towards visual artists, but it comes in handy for a lot of other purposes as well. Here are some of its finer points:

Open source
Integrated IDE (see below)
Lots of…

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Jun172010June 17, 2010June 17, 20104Commentsby L.

Tips for 3D printing

Posted in Tips

When you want a custom plastic piece fast (and the design isn’t amenable to being made out of multiple flat laser cut pieces) then 3D printing is the way to go.

3D printing is actually a whole family of different processes: SLS,…

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Jun172010June 17, 2010June 17, 20105Commentsby L.

OpenPCR

Posted in Hardware

Thermocyclers/PCR machines are really simple, but still expensive. To offer a less expensive, do-it-yourself option, these two guys are engineering an open source alternative. In addition to being a decent PCR machine, (“16 reaction wells, a heated lid, a ramp…

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Jun172010June 17, 2010July 1, 20101Commentby L.

Tips for laser cutting

Posted in Tips


It’s not too hard to find a laser cutting firm that will do small orders and offer very rapid turn around. The precision, quick turn around, and the ability to work without proper…

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